How can I find rest in the midst of a busy life?

This is the question of our age, right? Almost everyone can identify with a sense of being always on, never not working, constantly connected, sleep deprived. And even though no one would actually admit to this, some of us wear busyness as if it were a badge of honor. And it’s not just we adults. Our youth feel the same way, maybe even more so than we do, those who have grown up in the digital screen era with cell phones always connected. In the social media era, all this digital connection and information is not just distracting; it’s taxing, it’s exhausting as well. And everyone knows that we need rest. In the same way that when you think of a musical score, it’s not just musical notes, right? There’s rests as well. It’s only beautiful if there’s a combination of both musical notes and rests in the score. If you remove all the rests, then the song is destroyed. It destroys the melody, the timing, and the actual beauty of the song. Every song needs both musical notes and rests to make a great one. And in the same way, our lives need both work and activity as well as rest and recreation and time away from being productive.

But here’s the problem. We are addicted to productivity, finishing projects, the accomplishments, the busyness that fuels many of our days. And as parents even, we feel a pressure to make sure that our children’s lives are so full of good things, good extracurricular activities. We’ll fill nearly every waking moment with activities and digital engagement. No matter who you talk to, everyone’s schedule is full, if not too full.

So an important question to ask is why? Why do we feel that we and our families have to run so full right up to the margins in every day? What’s the thing underneath all the things that keep us going at such a frantic pace? Well, for some and maybe even for many of us, we have embraced an identity, who we are, what we take pride in, that’s characterized by a nearly never not working, characterized by a deficiency of rest. And I’d say we have a death grip on efficiency and productivity. Those are the values of our day. We’re afraid that what will happen and what it means for me if and when I rest, especially if the job, whatever that job is, isn’t fully completed.

But here’s the thing. We don’t fully image God without rest. Remember with me in the beginning, God works by creating all things. He separates, he orders them. Then he creates man, male and female, and he commands them to be fruitful and multiply, to subdue and rule over his creation. He places them in the garden of Eden, and he tasks them with good work to keep and to tend the plants and the animals, all that God has in his beautiful garden. So God works and then he directs Adam and Eve to work as well. Why? Because that’s what it means, in part, to image God, to be human. It’s good. We image God in a significant way as we work, as we tend, as we create, as we order.

But here’s the thing: This is not the whole story. Adam and Eve don’t fully reflect God’s image until rest happens. God rests from his creation. He ceases, he stops, he puts down his work on the seventh day. And so that’s what we see in Adam and Eve as well. And Adam and Eve image God both as they work and as they rest. If they just work without rest or if they rest without work, it’s a distortion, it’s an incomplete picture of God’s image. So from the very, very beginning, we see this balance of working and ceasing from work that is vital to who we are as image bearers.

So here’s the question. What are we to do when we find ourselves out of balance, too busy chronically, and yearning then for rest? Because that is what will happen. Well, to respond in a very basic way, let me refer to a famous Sesame Street episode where Mr. Hoots the owl, he’s a jazz-loving owl, is trying to teach Ernie how to play the saxophone. But every time Ernie tries to pick up the saxophone and play, all he gets is squeaks mixed in with a few notes, and it’s horrible. You see, the problem is, and this is what Mr. Hoots tells him, is that Ernie won’t let go of his beloved rubber ducky. You see, you need two hands to play the saxophone, and Mr. Hoot keeps telling him, “If you want to play the saxophone, you got to put down the ducky.” Well, in the same way, if we want to live well, to live as we are meant to live and fully to bear God’s image, we have to put down our beloved rubber duckies as well and then learn to rest.

We really do have to learn to do this thing that seems so simple, because it’s not so easy. When we stop working and we cease from all the productivity and efficiency and getting things done and accomplished, oftentimes, what do you feel? Anxious, right? You’re restless. It’s vital first that we take rest seriously, whether that’s a day of rest and worship, the Sabbath, or it’s throughout the week, giving ourself enough restorative sleep, downtime, and recreation.

But as I said, ask yourself, what happens to you when you try to rest or when you are resting, when you cease from work? Why doesn’t it feel restful? Do you feel distracted? Do you feel anxious? Why is work and productivity and getting things done so important, maybe even too important, too central to who you are? Ask yourself that question and reflect on what the answers are. And finally, what are those rubber duckies that need to be put down in your life to live in a manner that strives to balance work and rest in a way that more fully images our Creator and Redeemer, Jesus Christ?